The Reason I Live
by momojinxie
Summary: Following the events of episode 16, Akane learns that there is much about the unit that she didin't know. Kougami seeks to comfort her the only way he knows how to. One Shot. KougamixAkane.


Hello lovelies, if you're anything like me you're dealing with a clouded psycho pass and a rising crime coefficient. SPOILER ALERT: Set after Episode 16. Please Review. Oneshot. Kougane.

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**The Reason I Live**

Everything unfolded within minutes. Akane handcuffed Makishima and cried to herself. _I wasn't able to do it...I couldn't avenge Yuki...I failed Kougami-san..._ Ginoza and the rest of Division 1 entered the building; it only took them a few minutes to locate his team based on Shion's directions.

Masaokagasped and ran to Kougami's side. "Ko! Ko!" he shook him "Are you ok?" He was in bad shape, covered in blood, and some of his old wounds reopened alongside his new wounds.

Kougami slowly opened his eyes and groaned. "Is he dead...? Is inspector Tsunemori ok?" _Is it finally over….?_

The older Enforcer looked at the unconscious Makishima and this distressed Akane. "No Ko….he's alive…but Missy's alright."

Ginoza lowered his weapon seeing that Akane handcuffed Makishima. He sighed to himself. _They didn't kill him... _"Inspector Tsunemori are you ok?"

She gazed down at Makishima. Yuki's murderer. Sasayama's murder. The man behind so many deaths, the man that's caused so much chaos and almost killed Kougami and she could not bring herself to kill him. It was more than fair but she couldn't do it. She remained silent and shook her head.

The second division arrived to assist them and to apprehend Makishima. Kougami was put on to the stretcher; he couldn't bring himself to look at Akane, even though she stood beside him.

The second division officer escorted Makishima downstairs as he passed the Inspector and Enforcer he smirked. "How disappointing Inspector..." he grinned "I guess I'll get to play a little while longer."

Akane's eyes widened as she watched him disappear down the hallway. _What will be his fate? He is a member of society that the Sybil system did not affect._

Ginoza spoke into his communicator and gasped. "Bodies in the basement?" Looking at Akane his eyes narrowed. "Inspector where is Kagari?"

The remainder of Division 1 hurried to the basement, toward the heart of Sybil. Kougami was taken to the hospital immediately. Ginoza looked down at his blueprints "I don't understand, there isn't supposed to be anything over here."

Yayoi examined the area. "There's no radio frequency in this area." she looked down at her dominator "They're offline as well."

"Stay alert." he led the team deeper. "Inspector Tsunemori you take Mazaoka, Kunidzuka come with me."

It wasn't long before Akane began to locate the bodies of Makishima's men. "Kagari's dominator..." she leaned down and picked up the offline weapon. _Please be ok...please be ok..._She held the gun to her chest and continued to walk forward following the path.

Masaokafrowned. "I'm sure he's alright Missy, Kagari is a tough kid." He had to be strong for her, she was still a rookie and she's had the toughest first few months on the beat than anyone. Within the first year of her work she's shot her partner, watched her best friend get murdered, and let a murderer live. He couldn't imagine what she was going through. He prayed that Kagari was alright. After a while they reached the end of the path to a secured room.

Ginoza and Yayoi met up with them there. "Makishima's men are all over the place, but no Kagari. He probably escaped." Ginoza huffed.

"Ginoza-san! Please don't say something like that. Kagari-kun wouldn't do that." Akane yelled. "I had no choice but to split up with him; if Kagari went after Makishima he could have been killed. Kougami is much more dangerous by himself than Kagari, and just like everyone else Kagari risks his life for our division."

Yayoi sighed "Well he's not down here." Bringing her attention to the door she raised an eyebrow. "What's behind that door anyway?"

Ginoza sighed. "The Sybil System." he began to type a few numbers on to the keypad only to have his access denied. "I'm not authorized in here."

The female Enforcer looked at him "I'll go get Shion, she can get in here." she hurried out and Ginoza followed behind her.

Akane looked at the door and gently pressed her hand against it. "I have a feeling something grim is behind this door..." she whispered. As they waited for assistant to arrive she looked up at the older enforcer. "Mazaoka-san...do you think Kougami-san will ever forgive me?"

He sighed and looked down "Ko will get over it. I think if anything he's being harder on himself. He wasn't able to kill Makishima. The past few years all he's wanted was to find Sasayama murderer...he's sacrificed a life where he could be accepted by society to get him." he slipped his hands in his pockets. "Ko's never wanted to bring Makishima in; he's wanted to kill him since day one. That much was for sure...The only reason Ko is still working with us is because he can't kill Makishima from prison."

The young Inspector looked down. It broke her heart to know that she was the only thing standing in the way of Kougami's only dream. It was the only way to truly easy his pain and let him know this his suffering was for a reason.

Soon Shion returned and immediately plugged her computer into the door. "Are you sure, boss?" she looked over to Ginoza.

His eyes narrowed as he thought about it a bit longer. _I've never seen the inside of Sybil before..._It not only sparked his curiosity but it drew him in. "There's no way else that we can secure the building…not until we've checked everywhere. If Kagari is not in there then we can deem him a runaway and have a squad to hunt him down." he crossed his arms over his chest. "This is an order."

She nodded and began to hack into the system. "Yes sir" she quickly typed a few numbers into the key pad. After a few moments it blinked a few times and slowly began to open. Masaoka and Akane took the first few steps inside.

Immediately they spotted two bodies, completely destroyed by a lethal dominator. Examining one body Ginoza sighed. Judging from what was left of the clothing he came to a logical conclusion. "Must have been one of Makishima's men." He adjusted his glasses. "Whatever he was here for it looks like he failed."

Masaoka checked the perimeter of the room, making sure there was no one else inside. "Perimeter secured."

Akane examined the other body. Although this wasn't her first time dealing with an obliterated body, it still made her uncomfortable. It was almost completely unidentifiable. Leaning closer she recognize what was left of the clothes. Her eyes widened seeing the familiar white and black creepers. She covered her mouth in horror. "K-Kagari!" the room filled with her terrorized scream.

Masaoka grabbed the traumatized Inspector and held her "Shhh...calm down Missy..." he looked away from the body. "He was just a kid..." _He's only a few years beh__ind Nobuchika..._As a father he was completely torn apart. It was always a hard day to lose a teammate, but Kagari was a kid.

Akane sobbed into Masaoka's jacket, Yayoi stared stunned at the body before dropping to her knees. Tears began to spill from her eyes. She remembered every laugh they shared, every smile he made. She was closest to him on the team. He was the second partner that she lost. She slammed her fist into the ground as Shion wrapped her arms around her. _He was my friend... _"No!" she cried. It was such a rare sight to see, Yayoi would almost never shown any weakness or emotions.

Ginoza looked down; he couldn't allow himself to show weakness. He had to be stronger; he knew that he couldn't afford to have his hue clouded. He had to be logical about it. _How did an offline dominator kill Kagari...and who pulled the trigger? There's a bigger issue than losing an Enforcer. _He walked out of the room silently. Once he was alone in the dark his fist clenched and he gritted his teeth. His eyes watered but he wouldn't allow a tear to be shed. _Dammit Kagari…why…?_

– –

Akane sat by Kougami's bed side in the infirmary at the MWPSB. It was the longest three days of her life; Kougami still hadn't woken up, but she wasn't going to leave him alone again, not after everything that's happened. She paled to think about what could have happened to him if she was even a second late. It made her sick knowing that she could have arrived too late and Kougami could have been dead. _My strong, brave, stubborn Kou__gami-san..._

The team was in mourning at the loss of Kagari, and taking it hard. The smiling, cheerful face that brought a life to the team was once again taken away.

Kougami began to come to, he groaned and tried to sit up. Hearing the groan Akane placed down the novel Nineteen Eithy Four and hurried to his side "Kougami-san!" she gently touched his arm "Please take it easy, I'll go get a doctor."

He rubbed his eye as he woke up more and winced. His side and his head were bandaged. "Ugh.. Inspector Tsunemori...where am I? What happened..." he looked at her wide eyed. "Everything's really foggy..." He placed his hand on his head as he dealt with his throbbing headache.

She looked down sadly. "Kougami-san...you...got beaten up pretty badly. You have a head injury; both of your ribs were broken, internal bleeding, gunshot wound, and hairline fractures in your sk-"

"I'm fine" he insisted. "I meant what happened with that bastard."

She couldn't face him; she absolutely could not look into his deep grey eyes. Not when she failed him like this. "I-I couldn't do it...I couldn't kill him...I-I arrested him." _I'm so sorry...Please forgive me Kougami-san...Yuki-chan...Sasayama-kun..._

His eyes flickered with anger, but it quickly subsided. Deep down he knew that she couldn't do it. "That bastards still alive..." he reached out and gently took hold of her face making her look at him."I understand how you can't bring yourself to kill someone...Out of everyone on the team you haven't used a lethal attack on anyone...But I want you to think about something Inspector...Sasayama, and Yuki were taken from us because of him...The worst that we're going to do to him is put him in therapy. Other than that we have nothing on him. His crime coefficient is zero...He'll be free to roam the streets and kill again...Yuki and Sasayama can never rest in peace..."

Her eyes widened. "I-I just couldn't..." She hid her face in the palms of her hands and she began to cry. _I couldn't kill him..._

He placed his hand on top of her head lovingly. "Maybe it would have been easier if you could have just shot your dominator...It was cruel of me to ask that you beat him to death." He sighed "The real failure was me...I was supposed to protect you. I was supposed to avenge Sasayama...the past three years were for nothing...not when they'll let him walk."

She looked up at him. Her big eyes in wonder "N-No it's not your fault please don't say that. I promise to do everything in my power to make sure he is brought to justice."

"Don't worry about it...if they let that bastard go...I'll hunt him down." _I am a dog after all..._ his eyes were determined. "Did Kagari find what they were doing in the basement? Did he stop them?"

She looked at him wide eyed. H_ow could I be so stupid of course__ he doesn't know about Kagari..._ Instantly her eyes began to water, and her lip quivered. "H-He...he stopped them..." she stammered out.

Reading her expression he sat up quickly. The hasty movement caused him to wince at the excessive pain at his side. "What happened? Is Kagari hurt?" He knew that Kagari was witty and sneaking and had basic fighting training but he often under estimated the situation. "Where is he?"

The hopeful tone in his voice broke her heart. "He's gone...Kagari was killed." she sobbed and looked down, gripping her skirt. "He's gone..." she cried into her hands. "We found him downstairs with another body...both of them were shot and killed with a dominator on lethal..."

"No...Kagari..." he clenched his fist and slammed them into the bed. "Dammit! Who! Who did this to him?!" his eyes flickered with hate.

She shook her head. "We don't know...Our dominator's don't even work down there...and it would have had to been someone authorized to use one...Ginoza-san is investigating it..."

_He as just a kid...He was only working for two years..._ "Shuusei..." he whispered. He looked up and watched as his Inspector was still sobbing into her hands. He pulled her into his arms. "Stop blaming yourself..." he whispered into her soft brown hair.

She gasped being so close and could hear him groan from the pain that the hug caused him "Kougami-san your wounds" _It's my fault…I should have stopped him…we shouldn't have split up…I should have waited for backup…we knew that Makishima was a decoy__ and went after him anyway…_

"I'm fine...please...just let me hold you like this..." They remained like that for what felt like hours. He comforted her the only way he knew he could. _I couldn't protect her from losing Yuki...I couldn't protect her from __facing Makishima...and I couldn't protect her from losing Kagari. _He'd do anything he could to protect her, she was his reason for living now. More than he wanted to kill Makishima, he needed to protect her.

She relaxed in his arms and allowed herself to cry against his chest. Whatever pain he initially felt was not important, for as long as he could keep her in his arms.

A few more days had passed, Kougami once again made a remarkably speedy recovery. The whereabouts of Makishima was kept hidden from the team, for his own safety. The city was slowly starting to recover. More citizens were apprehended and were placed in therapy, but slowly the city returned to their civil lifestyle. However the people did learned that they should not trust everyone on the street. People learned to fear again.

Division One returned to the office after Kagari's funeral, and took their usual spots behind their desk. Ginoza looked at his desk and sighed. "Someone needs to throw this junk out."

Yayoi looked up at him with wide eyes. "Inspector...it's not junk...Kagari-"

"Was expendable. Only an Enforcer who did his job. Now that he is gone his desk needs to be cleared and he will be replaced. Just as he did to Sasayama." he crossed his arms over his chest.

Akane couldn't believe his cold words. Walking over toward her boss she slapped him hard across the face. Her eyes determined. "Don't you dare...don't you dare say something like that about Kagari! He lost his life because he was brave! He went on by himself knowing that he was out numbered to protect this city. Protect this city and his friends even though society punished him!" she fought to hold in her sobs. "He was alone because you didn't want to react to our hunch. You wanted to follow orders instead of looking at the big picture...Kagari's death will not be in vain and I will not allow you to speak ill of him." Looking over at the video games and toys surrounding his desk she returned her attention to her chief. "We will handle what happens to his things but you will not act as if he did not matter"

He looked down at the small passionate woman before him. His pale cheek stained red from her slap. Touching his cheek he slowly glared at her. "Do what you want" he brushed by her exiting the offices. He couldn't afford to be riled up.

Masaoka was in his room painting and looking out at the sunset. There was a knock at the door, opening it he was pleasantly surprised that Akane and Kougami were there. "Ko, Missy come in" he gestured inside.

Akane held a few bag. "Masaoka-san these were some of Kagari's things." It was better to ease the pain by dividing Kagari's things; It didn't feel right to throw them away. He didn't have any family or friends outside the MWPSB to give them to. She handed him one of the bags and took a seat. Kougami immediately sat by her side; but that's how he's been over the past few days, like a hound defending his master.

Looking inside the bag he smiled at the four boxes of unfinished model figurines; characters from his favorite video game series. "He never finished these things" he laughed to himself. "He'd buy so many but they just sat in a box." he looked down at the boxes sadly. "He never had the patience to piece them together and paint them all."

Akane smiled "I thought you'd like to have them." Masaoka was the artistic member of the unit. He was usually found painting or constructing a vase, it was also an easy therapeutic way to deal with his hue.

Kougami laughed "He was always a bit of a hoarder."

After what happened a few days ago Ginoza had been even more introverted than usual, Masaoka felt the need to clear some things up."Missy, can I tell you a story..." The elder enforcer placed the boxes on his coffee table and looked at her. The sudden request caught her off guard but she was more than happy to listen to his story. "Before the Sybil system was in place I was just a cop defending this city. There were more much more police back then, we had hundreds of officers but as society changed due to the Sybil system there was no longer a need for such a large force." he chuckled to himself "But back in my day we could have dealt with those riots no problem. You two may be too young to remember when the Sybil system came into the world but when I was an Inspector, before dominators we relied on our own judgment...not a machine and back then the inspectors were their own enforcers." he sighed and slouched a bit. "I couldn't control my anger and frustration toward the Sybil system. There was no way that these machines could judge how dangerous a person was...Not when I can look into their eyes and know that they're not a threat."

Akane sat up attentively captivated by his story. Kougami studied Akane, seeing how her big brown eyes lit up to the story was enchanting.

"Well because of my stress...my psycho pass coefficent continued to be clouded...therapy wasn't an option at that point and I was labeled a latent criminal...I didn't even have to commit a crime. I lost my position in the MWPSB...my freedom...my family had to suffer because people treated me like I was infected...therefore my son and wife were constantly under stress." He closed his eyes momentarily remembering how his son used to cry because the other children refused to play with him. They claimed it was bad for their Psycho Passes.

The young female inspector gasped "You have a son?" There was so much she didn't know about Masaoka, and she considered herself to be so close to him. She looked down; her heart broke for this little boy. "H-How could people be so cruel...?" She never judged a person based on their psycho pass, if she did she wouldn't have grown to allow Kougami and the other Enforcers into her heart.

Kougami watched how sensitive she was. She was so caring and remorseful toward people and usually that over sensitivity would lead to someone getting stressed and their hue being affected but not Akane. She was a genuinely good person. It was like she's blessed with a good heart and a clear psycho pass...

Masaoka was surprised by how much she felt for his son. "Being a criminal was considered contagious...I couldn't directly affect their psycho passes because I didn't live with them...but society did that for me...society's stress on my family caused my wife to constantly be in therapy...my son grew up hating latent criminals...He...He's a good kid but every time he allowed a latent criminal to get close to him he got hurt...He may come off as heartless but that's because he cares too much...his psycho pass is easily clouded and he's constantly in therapy...He keeps coworkers and friends at bay...that way he can't be hurt...not again...Soon he may be deemed a latent criminal and he'd become the very thing he hates." He looked down at his hands. "I failed him as a father..."

Akane wiped away a stray tear. "Th-that's not true... I can tell how much you love your son..." she stood up hastily. "It's like all this time you've been watching him from a far, wanting to be a part of his life but you're keeping your distance to protect his hue. He sounds very sensitive but... without friends he can't even function properly...if he had someone to talk and vent to then he wouldn't have to be so stressed."

The black haired enforcer watched at how passionate she got, all of the compassion she felt for people gave him hope for the world.

Masaoka smiled "Missy...if only he knew how much people cared about him..."

"If there is anything Kagari taught us it's that life is too short. Even though he was a latent crimnal and society looked down on him he was on the front lines every day fighting and protecting people...I don't think Kagari had any regrets. He lived his life fully and happy without worrying that emotions will affect his psycho pass and hue...Kagari's had a fuller life than most people...but he was taken away so suddenly so please...please...talk to your son...rekindle what you have before it's too late..." she begged. "Please..."

"Missy...you are one remarkable young woman..." he smiled at her "Perhaps you should tell my thick headed son that same thing."

She blushed realizing that she may have over stepped her boundaries. "I-I'm sorry I-"

"No I needed that...I'll try and make things right..."

Kougami smirked and leaned back on the couch. "Heh I think Gino would actually be embarrassed at how much you care about him."

Her brown eyes widened "Eh!? G-Ginoza-san?" her head shot to Masaoka "Ginoza-san is your son?" she stared at him in disbelief especially looking at how hard Ginoza was on him when they worked in the field. _I thought it was because Mazaoka-san was old school but wow…I guess it kind of makes sense now._

The black haired enforcer laughed at her reaction. "Gino takes after his mother." He stood up and straightened out his jacket. "Tsunemori, we should go."

She nodded and smiled at Masaoka "Thank you for your time." She followed behind Kougami. _I guess there's a lot more about the team that I don't know…_

Akane and Kougami sat in the bar of the MWPSB, drinking Kagari's favorite bottle of scotch. Kougami downed another glass and wiped his mouth. He looked over at Akane and smirked. "You know drinking can also affect your hue."

She shook her head, her cheeks flustered. "My hue never really gets affected by anything. I was fine when I drank with Kagari-san."

He chuckled "I guess I shouldn't really be surprised by that."

"Kougami-san…may I ask you something?" she traced the top of her glass with her fingertip absently.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Tell me something else about the Enforcers."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't know about Ginoza-san and Mazaoka-san being related, tell me something else I didn't know"

He smirked and poured himself another glass. "Yayoi used to play guitar in an all-girls rock band she was actually pretty amazing."

"Really? She looks so serious; I wouldn't have ever thought that."

"We all had lives before this."

"Were you ever married? Or had a girlfriend?" She blushed and covered her mouth. It wasn't like her to be so bold. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry."

He placed his glass on the table and leaned closer to her. His grey eyes darkened as he eyed her. "What makes you think I'm single right now?"

She gasped and blushed heavily. "I-I didn't know…I'm sorry." _Why did I think he was single? Well he always led on that…I guess I was just r__eading into things._ She looked down, avoiding any and all eye contact.

"I'm single" he grinned seeing how panicked she was. He gently stroked her hair and pulled her closely. "I had a girlfriend but it was a long time ago. She could never understand how wrapped up in a mission I got so we parted ways."

She blushed and looked at him. "Was it after you became a latent criminal?"

He chuckled and finished his glass. "Nah, long before I became a latent criminal." He looked over at her again. "You almost seemed disappointed that I might be taken."

"Wh-what? No it's not like that." She looked down shielding her eyes know him behind her bangs.

"Oi, Tsunemori-san, do you want to know something else about the Enforcers?"

She peaked up at him shyly. "Yes please…"

He took the glass from her and leaned in closer, he tilted her chin toward him as he brushed his lips against hers. "I like you" he whispered in a low, deep voice.

"K-Kougami-san…." She whispered before he captured his lips with hers. He shifted his weight causing her to lie down on the couch. Her hands moved to gently grip his partially undone shirt. She shyly and hesitantly returned his kiss and moaned in his mouth. Her tongue lashed out against his. _Mmmm…he taste like cigarettes and scotch…._On their own neither of the flavors were appealing to her, however it seemed to suit Kougami.

His hand moved to rest on her hip after he unbuttoned her blouse; feeling her pull back to catch a breath of air, he subtly bit down on her lower lip, releasing it slowly; his grey eyes never leaving her brown eyes. She stared up at him bewildered. She was in disbelief at how effortless it was for him to seduce her. He pulled back and looked at her. "Beautiful…" he whispered. Her pouty lips were parted as she panted heavily, her hair astray from the sofa, and her unbuttoned blouse exposing parts of her soft, pale skin. He loved seeing her like this.

"K-Kougami-san…" her heart raced as she struggled to find the right words, all that she knew for sure was that she didn't want him to stop. Her cheeks were a bright red, partially because of the alcohol, partially because of what he was making her feel.

He leaned in and began to nibble on her ear, enticing soft whimpers from her sour lips. Her hands instantly entangled themselves in his messy black hair. He alternated between biting, sucking and tugging on her sensitive ear lobe. "Akane…" he whispered in a heated breath. She closed her eyes taking in the sensual shivers he triggered throughout her body. He began to kiss lower, cupping and caressing her breast through her bra. He grinned and looked at her. "You know I would have never guessed that you'd wear such a daring bra…." He mumbled against her chest.

She looked down at him and took a shallow breath. "Kougami-san..." _Why does it feel so go__od….? Why do I want him…? _She'd only partially been aware of her feelings for him. She knew that she was physically attracted to him, and they had grown quite close during the last few months, however she never thought of being sexually intimate with him. Her body could not deny how badly she wanted him. How his touch, his voice, his gaze made her want him more. Her words were lost, she figured it may have been a defense mechanism to refrain from something stupid.

His finger gently slid over her skin trailing from her collar bone, going past her bra, down her stomach to the top of her skirt. He placed a kiss where his finger lingered, while looking into her eyes before pulling away. He got off of the couch and straightened his jacket.

The sudden motion caused her to shoot up panicked. "N-No" she blushed from her own words and stared at him "D-Don't stop" she begged.

Hearing her voice he smiled, and leaned on the threshold of room. "What was that?" his smiled turned into a devious grin. He didn't want to force himself on her at this point; he wanted to know she wanted it just as bad as he did.

She blushed and covered her heated cheeks. "I…I want to keep going."

He slowly walked over to her, like a predator approaching his prey; slow and tantalizingly painful. "You want more?"

She nodded and unconsciously bit down on her lower lip. The subtle gesture was enough to make his teasing cease. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom down the hallway. In this life nothing was certain, even the life of the Sybil system seemed limited. Every day they entered the field there was no guarantee that either of them were going to return home. The only thing that he knew for sure was at this moment, nothing could take his Akane away.

The End.

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Thank you for reading. Please review. I got such a great response to my last Kougane fic that I was inspired to write this one.


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